


the time between july and october

by Carmailo



Series: Voltron One Shots [16]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, im apologizing now in advance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 01:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14273991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmailo/pseuds/Carmailo
Summary: They met between July and October, so it seems only fitting that they set their future together in stone between the two months.Nostalgia plagues the hot September day, and Keith tries to stop fidgeting.





	the time between july and october

.  
Keith and Lance first met when they were both six. It was in that blissful time between July and October where they were the same age. Of course, neither of them knew this at the time, but looking back, Keith finds it odd that they would’ve met at such an opportune time.

They were both in the foster system.

Lance was only there for a few weeks before he was with a family, but Keith had just been transferred into the American system and was facing a maximum of twelve more years in it.

The first thing Keith had noticed in America was that everyone’s skin was all wrong.

Most people he saw had skin like his own, only pinker and always more flushed. But a good portion of the people he met had dark skin, some so dark that it mesmerized Keith. They were decorated in hues of browns and reds and oranges and pinks, and so few people shared the same colour it was unsettling.

Of course, Lance’s skin was all wrong to Keith.

Who in the entirety of the world had skin that colour? Red and brown and orange all at once. Keith did not like it, even if only because it was different. The point was that it was wrong and Keith did not like it.

And so Keith told him so.

His english was very poor at the time and he was not used to western customs, so he did not understand why, when he marched up to Lance, took his hand, and pointed at his arm before saying “wrong,” a supervisor reprimanded him and sent him to the corner.

After that, Lance with the all-wrong skin became Keith’s primary interest and only friend.

Keith became Lance’s shadow.

And Lance did not push him away.

Then Lance was given a family, and Keith was not.

He cried when he finally realized that Lance was not coming back.

Lance had left him.

* * *

Keith’s fingers itch to fix Lance’s tie.

There’s nothing wrong with it, not really, but it looks the slightest bit off.

Keith’s fingers twitch as he brings his gaze from Lance’s face to Shiro’s. Shiro gives him a small smile. Keith returns it as best he can, but there are so many people around them and he doesn’t want to draw attention. He can already feel so many of their stares on him.

Blinking heavily, Keith turns his gaze back to Lance.

He’s wearing a red tie, and Keith can’t help but think it almost looks out of place.

But Keith himself _is_ wearing the blue one, after all.

He longs to take Lance’s fingers in his own.

* * *

When Keith turns seven he watches Lance pack his bags.

He doesn’t say it’s his birthday, but one of the supervisors hand him a lollipop and pat him on the head.

Keith had waited until Lance was hugging him goodbye to press the candy into his hand.

“Don’t forget me,” Lance had winked.

Keith had nodded eagerly, “ _you_ don’t forget _me_.”

When he was eight, it finally clicked into Keith’s mind; Lance was not coming back.

When he was nine, Keith was struggling to remember the boy he’d been the shadow of, the boy with the skin that was all wrong.

By the time his tenth birthday rolled around, Lance was a distant memory.

At eleven, he didn’t remember there was a boy to shadow at all in the first place.

* * *

Lance does not look at Keith.

Maybe if he does, he’ll stop making that straight face he’s been keeping, an easy smile on his face that is only natural, eyes lidded.

The flower on his lapel shifts in the warm summer breeze that blows across the yard.

Keith tries to remember why they picked this date.

It was because they didn’t want to wait, right?

It doesn’t really matter now, so Keith shrugs his shoulders, adjusting his suit.

It’s uncomfortable, but he’ll be satisfied once this is all over and he’s alone with Lance and they can have a proper conversation.

* * *

At sixteen, Keith gets into the Garrison. He goes because it’ll get him out of the foster system and he goes because he wants a future.

He meets a boy there, and something about his tickles at the back of Keith’s mind before he gets annoyed and chooses to ignore the boy instead of try and figure out whatever it is that he’s thinking about.

His name is Lance, and Keith almost remembers.

* * *

Keith fiddles with the bouquet in his hands. His gaze flits down to them, suddenly embarrassed. A blush spreads across his cheeks and he glances at Lance again. He’s in a cream-coloured suit, and the colour is gorgeous against his warm skin.

Keith glances at the… whatever his name is. Reading stuff out from his notes, glancing up and flicking his gaze between Lance and Keith before across the rest of the crowd.

Keith’s legs hurt from standing so long.

* * *

At seventeen, Keith is seen as the broody, mysterious boy with a dark past. A few boys tell him he’s lucky to have so many girls chasing him, and a few other boys slip him sheets of paper with their numbers on them.

Keith leaves the phone numbers behind without once touching them, and keeps to himself, avoiding any confrontation he can help.

His only friend, Shiro, goes missing, and he mourns the loss by cutting class, stealing from the school, and going so far as to assault a teacher.

In the eyes of his peers, he’s a legend.

In his own, he’s a disaster.

* * *

Keith glances over at Shiro again, his eyes shining.

Shiro has a single teardrop sliding down his cheek, his face reminiscent.

Proud.

Keith’s reminded of _Can You Feel the Love Tonight,_ the beginning about a trio being down to two, or something. He glances over at Pidge and Hunk, who are doing their best to hold their composure.

* * *

And the Keith is eighteen, barrelling down the way with his four extra passengers on his bike.

And then he’s forming Voltron and then he’s becoming the pilot of the black lion, and then he’s leaving to join the Blade, and then he’s coming back because something goes wrong.

And then he’s with Lance, and the two are friends, until they’re not, because then they’re something more.

* * *

At twenty-four, Keith asks Lance offhandedly about his thoughts on love.

Lance proposes.

Keith says yes.

They go into their next battle with matching rings one their fingers, picked up from a swap moon.

“Just for the engagement,” Lance promises, “I’ll get you something better for the real thing.”

“Bet you I’ll pick a better ring for you,” Keith challenges, and it becomes a joke between the two them.

They go into their last battle with new matching rings, because “I’m going to lose these otherwise, Keith. I love you.”

“You didn’t actually have to,” Keith breathes, and Lance laughs.

“I know.”

* * *

When he’s twenty-five, Keith stands with his hands in front of him, a bouquet clenched in his fists. He’s holding them tighter than strictly necessary, but it’s grounding, and it reminds him of how many things he never wants to let go off.

* * *

At age twenty-five, Keith adjusts his blue tie, and stands in front of his fiancé on their wedding date, adjusting his uncomfortable suit because it’s heavy and catches in the heat. He’s holding a bouquet of Lance’s favourite flowers, and Lance is wearing a cream-coloured suit, because he’d once said he’d wear one when this specific day came.

Shiro is proud, today. He’s proud of Keith for being here, for not letting his emotions keep him rooted to his bed.

But mostly, he’s proud of Lance. Proud of Lance for being so strong. For being so steadfast and important.

Pidge and Hunk are standing together, staring at one third of their trio. One seventh of their team.

And Keith is clutching the bouquet of flowers, because once he lets it go, it’ll be over.

Adjusting his suit again, Keith wonders why he picked this day.

Because he wanted something to happen on the date that was supposed to be his wedding day? Because he didn’t want to wait until even a day later and he’d already cleared out this specific date? Because he never wanted to forget the date he was supposed to get married on?

Keith stares at the flowers in his hands. He can’t remember their names, just that they were supposed to be part of the centerpieces on the tables.

Keith vision starts to blur.

He looks up at Shiro, frown clear on his features, as tears finally start to fall. Shiro isn’t looking at Keith, but there are more tears on his cheeks, so Keith guesses he’s trying to be strong.

Keith’s shoulders start to shake as he tries to keep his crying quiet, but he can’t help it.

Why did he pick _today?_

Today was supposed to be a day of happiness. Not _this._

Keith looks at Lance again. At the cream suit.

 _“I look_ great _in cream. Whoever’s still alive by the time my funereal comes around, make sure I’m wearing a cream suit. I want to be a hot dead guy.”_

At the flowers.

_“Remember the Axtolian system? That one planet had those really pretty flowers… Tondestite? I can’t remember. We should get a bunch of those for our centerpieces. I think they’re my favourite._

Thinks about the date.

_“September ninth. It’s between your birthday and mine. We met between our birthdays, so wouldn’t it be sort of fitting if we, like, sealed our future together on the date that is as close to the date we met?”_

Thinks about the suit.

_“Suits are just uncomfortable. But if you pick a good one, you gotta be willing to suffer to look hot. But, for the record, Keith looks good in all of them.”_

All the little, tiny occurrences that happened. Everything that isn’t there anymore.

_“Race?”_

_“Show me?”_

_“I love you.”_

_“Need any help?”_

_“Are you okay? And don’t say you’re fine, that’s always a lie.”_

_“What can we do to make it better?”_

“Keith?” Shiro whispers, and Keith stares at his face, shaking his head slowly.

“It-... _Shiro,_ ” Keith chokes out quietly, letting Shiro pull him to his side.

“I know,” Shiro says softly, “I know.”

Keith stares at his fiancé.

They were supposed to be _married_ today, both alive and well and healthy.

Neither of them were supposed to be in a casket.

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to go,” Keith mumbles.

Shiro slumps a little bit. “No,” he concurs, “it wasn’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> i tried to like  
> make you think it was a wedding before going sIKE ITS A FUNEREAL YA BOY LANCE IS MCDEAD
> 
> i  
> i am sorry lmao
> 
> ALSO  
> this was started right after season 3 aired, so that's why there might be some inconsistencies.


End file.
